Winter is the season I catch up on movie watching. I try to watch at least one a week. Some years I don’t do well, and in times like last year, I end the winter with watching only one or two movies.

There were years that passed when I didn’t see any movies. Spring, summer and fall are just too busy to watch movies—unless something monumental, such as a Marvel movie—comes out in theatres. I’m just not a TV watcher, so I’ve missed many good—and some just for fun—movies over the past three decades.

Why do I force myself to watch movies now?

Disconnect

Movies remove me from reality. Although many enjoy this chaotic, messed up world that has become void of common sense, I often prefer to journey the path less travelled, less noisy, more personal.

Movies transport me to another time, another place and a more fantastic reality. It must be the fantasy gene in me that keeps me hoping that life can be more adventurous, more challenging and more magical than it is. I need the break from reality to recharge my batteries.

I’ve learned a lot about blogging since January 2011, when this blog came to life. Over the years, I’ve tweaked it and completed major renovations countless times. Sometimes I made these changes because I was bored with the site; other times I learnt how to improve the appearance and ‘saleability’ of it.

Along the way, I have strived to make the blog design user-friendly. After all, if visitors can’t find what they want and what I want them to find, it frustrates both parties. I’ve been on blogs and websites where information was difficult to locate. I usually give up and search for another site with the same information.

I hope my blog is user-friendly and things are easy to find, but I’m always looking for ways to improve the experience. So when D. Wallace Peach made a post entitled 7 Steps to a User-Friendly Blog, I had to see if there were any tips I could use.

There were, so if you have a blog, I suggest reading her post. Visually, it might not improve your page, but the behind-the-scenes technical stuff will improve a visitor’s experience.

El Camino

After watching the movie The Way, I’ve decided to walk El Camino in spirit first while I wait for the opportunity to go to Spain. My trek of 880 kilometres will be tracked on my El Camino page. I’ve been walking since the end of May, but I didn’t start keeping track of the distance until July 1st.

So far, I’ve walked 95 km. I just left Puente la Reina, and I am on my way to Mañeru. So far, my feet feel great–especially with the new hiking shoes. However, my tendinitis is not improving. On the bright side, it’s not getting any worse.

Spoiler Alert: I’m going to describe only the basis of the story without too many details. I won’t go into the characters’ motives or their individual stories, and I won’t share the ending. You’ll be able to watch after reading this review and still not have scenes spoilt. The trailer gives more away than this review. I’m going to talk about the spiritual side of the story. Don’t mistake this for the religious side because I’m not religious even though travelling el Camino de Santiago is a traditional Catholic pilgrimage (not really, before this it was the traditional Celtic and Pagan pilgrimage to the end of the earth, but that’s another tale.).

The story begins with the main character Dr. Thomas Avery (Martin Sheen) learning his free-spirited son, Daniel (Emilio Estevez), has died during a storm while walking El Camino in the Pyrenees, France. He goes there to collect the remains and decides to walk El Camino for his son.

Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t read the book, this review contains pieces of the story that may hamper your enjoyment if you decide to read it.

I had high hopes for the story for two reasons: 1) For some odd reason titles that use only a year intrigue me; 2) It was set in a small community in the UK. However, the lack of polish and editing of the story slowed the pace and, in some instances, confused me. Many sentences were unnecessarily wordy.

I arrived ten minutes early for my doctor’s appointment, hoping I’d get in and out quickly. The appearance of only one other vehicle in the parking lot supported my goal. When I walked into the waiting room, there was only one guy there. Sitting in the dark. Alone. The receptionist office window was closed with a sign that read: Gone for Lunch; Back at 1:15.

I knew it was around 12:30. My appointment was 12:45. I started to think I had made a mistake. I questioned the only person in sight. “Are they still taking patients even though everyone’s gone to lunch?”

“Yeah, they are,” he said. “But instead of the receptionist, I saw a doctor come out and take in two patients.”

“Good. I was worried.”

“Me too until I saw the doctor.”

I sat and looked up at the TV screen and saw a show I had never watched before. After fifteen minutes, nothing had changed. I was still in my seat, the man was still sitting a few seats away, the room was still dim and the doctor had not yet emerged.

More TV Watching

After another 15 minutes, other patients started to trickle in, and another show I had never seen came on the television: the Marilyn Denise Show. I only watch one show—Agents of Shield—now that Corner Gas no longer runs, so almost every show is one I’ve never seen or heard of before.

Studies reveal unorganized play is vital to kids’ mental and physical development. Kids just need to be kids and to be allowed to explore their many interests without a rigid schedule. That’s What Messy Jessy Gets Active is all about.

Jessy was introduced to young readers in her first book, Messy Jessy. The fun-loving girl has a broad interest in activities, everything from hockey to yoga, and she explains to her parents that she loves them all; it’s impossible to choose only one.

When you read this, I’ll be miles away from home, exploring, hiking, fishing, canoeing, mingling with family, sitting around a campfire and enjoying my Canada Day in the only way I know how: by enjoying the great outdoors.

I’ll be going to my most favour place in the world, so close to the Atlantic Ocean I could throw a book from my deck chair and hit the water. I’ll be so close to family I’ll be able to look across the table and see them, walk to the next property and see more, and continue walking for half a kilometre and still see more.

Cousins abound due to Tibert fertility. My grandmother had 17 children; my father being the eleventh. He added eleven more to the clan. We love the old homestead so much, even when we don’t live there, we go there often in spite of the distance.

This place is in the middle of nowhere, where sometimes the only sounds you hear are the ripple of water and the cry of a gull. It’s a place where I’ve done a lot of reading and writing, a place where I can organise my thoughts. I find myself here each time I’m lost. It reminds me of who I am and what’s important in life.

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Diane Tibert is a writer, editor and publisher based in Nova Scotia, Canada. You can reach her at: tibert@live.com

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